Improvement-in electro-magnetic watchmen s time-checks



2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

W. O. LEWIS. Eleotro-Magnetio Watchmans Time-Check.

Patented May 14, 1878.

N. PETERS, FHOTD LITHOGRAPHER, WASH NGTON 2 SheetsSheet 2,

W. O. LEWIS. Eleotro-Magnetio Watchmans Time-Check.

No. 203,747. Patented May 14, 1878.

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N PETERS. FNQID-UTHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. n C.

UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

YVALTER O. LEWVIS, OF BROOKLYN, NEvV Y'ORK.

IMPROVEMENT-IN ELE CTRO-MAGNETIC WATCHMENS TIME-CHECKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 203,747, dated May 14,1878; application filed April 24, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER O. LEWIS, of No. 20 Pierrepont street, in thecity of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Watchmens Clocks, of which the followingis a specification:

The invention relates to a watchmans clock or time -detecter which isoperated by the watchman during his nightly rounds at stated times, soas to indicate his movements or presence at particular places at theappointed hours, and which is located at some place beyond the reach ofthe watchman except by the particular means provided, and the detectivepart of which is operated by electromagnets and a circuit.

It also relates to an automatic circuit-closing device, which signals tothe clock when the watchman winds it up by means of a special key, andforms a part of the entire system with the clock.

My invention consists in a circle of helices surrounding the center ofmotion of the clockhand; a clock-hand provided with an armature, whichswings over the helices in electrical relation thereto, and alsoprovided with a hinged pointerand marker; such a clock-hand incombination withafalse orremovable clock-dial; an automatic circuitclosing and opening device, operated by clock-work, arranged and guardedas shown, so as to be operated or properly set in motion only by a keyspecial in conformation, and in being guarded by non-conductingsurfaces, both in its own individual constructions and combinations, andalso in its combination with the receiving and recording clockmechanism, as shown and described.

In the accompanying drawing, in which similar letters of referenceindicate like parts, Figure l is a front view of the clock with theremovable dial thereon. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the clock andhinged hand, armature, and its helices. Fig. 3 is a front View of theclock with the removable paper dial removed and the faces of the helicesexposed. Fig. 4 is a front view of the mechanism of the transmitter orautomatic circuit-closer. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the single orfinger stop of same. Fig. 6 is a top view of the signalbox ortransmitter andbattcry-connections, and

Fig. 7 is the key of the same.

H is a hinged hand, secured upon the hourhand arbor of the clock, and Athe armature, which is secured to the hand and travels around with it.The index or pointer end of the hand, which carries the needle or prickpoint, is hinged at the angle N, just back of the armature, and is alsoslightly elevated by the action of the spring S, which is secured to thebody B of the hour-hand at the forward part, where about an inch of therigid part or body B is deflected slightly upward at W, and operates byits free end bearing upon a bent hook, H attached to the index orpointer E. H H are helices, which are arranged around the hand-arbor atconvenient distances to act upon the armature A, which has the form of asegment of a circle, and swings around over, but near to, the faces ofthe circle of helices.

The wheels, back of the helices, are the ordinary clock-wheels, withassociated mechanism of a clock, and need not be further described.

S S are the screw-studs for the batteryconnections.

The operation of this part of my invention is as follows: The magnets ofthe helices H H being brought into action by the closing of the circuitat the transmitter by the watchman, in a manner described hereinafter,the armature A will be acted upon by two magnets immediately under it,at whatever part of its revolution it may be. armature A down to thesurface of the magnets will necessarily depress the movable pointer endof the hinged hour-hand E, so that the needle or sharp point P willpuncture or indent the removable paper clock face or dial every time thecircuit is closed and opened; and if closed and opened repeatedly, thedial will beindented or marked with a dot or dent at the time of eachclosing and opening of the cir cuit. The paper clock face or dial 0being provided with the usual signs of the twelve hours, properlyspaced, as the hour-hand traverses its circuit the dents or dots, madeas above described, will indicate the time at which they were made, andso indicate the movements and the presence at any particular point ofthe The drawing of the watchman when they are made. The means by whichhis presence at different places or points at different times may becaused to be so indicated will be explained hereinafter in thedescription of the transmitter. The false dialface 0 has a radial slit,R, to permit it to slip into place around the hand-shaft, and is held inplace by the detents D D. The spring S should be graduated, so as toyield readily to the action of the magnets when the circuit is closed,and yet have sufficient strength to lift up the needle point and armwhen the circuit is opened and the armature is released, and is aided inthe operation by the brass face of the armature, which preventssticking.

The armature A is not only curved and located so' as to swing around thecircle over the ends of the helices H H, but it is of such length as tolap onto the third helix, and always to receive the full force of atleast two of them. The faces 0 should be changed each day.

The transmitter consists of clock-work, operating a disk, D, which isprovided on its periphery with a stop, P, composed of rubber or otherlike non-conducting material, and platina points P P for closing thecircuit.

The disk is arranged so as to make, say, one revolution, preferably,after the key K has been inserted by the watchman, and after he hasthereby wound up the clock, until it reaches a stop so located as togive one revolution only.

The stop T is madenon-conducting, so as not to close the circuit andthus signal the clock when it comes in contact with the lever L, as itwould do if of metal and the disk should be turned by means other thanthe key K and improperly; but the points P P make contact through aplatina surface, F, on the forward end and edge of the lever L.

r The points P P, in making contact with the platina surface F, closethe circuit through the wire W, attached to the lever, which is held upat its rear end by the spring S so that the platina surface F alwayslies in the track of the points P P, except when the spring is overcomeby the non-conducting stop T or by the beveled key guard G. The circuitis completed through the clock-work and the wire WV, leading to thestuds S S The lever L is secured to the plate E, which is also made ofrubber or like non-conductin g material, to prevent the flow of theelectric current through the lever and the clock-work at all times,except when the platina points and surface are in contact. The lever Lis also provided'with an arm, M, which extends down nearly to a point inline with the outward-projecting part of the shaft or arbor of the diskD, where it is bent nearly at right angles, and extended across thearbor at right angles to that part of it which receives the key K forwinding up the disk and operating clock-work, and so that the bevelednon-conducting guard G on the key K, in passing to its place, willinevltably raise the arm M, and with it the lever Land its platinaconnecting-surface, so that, in winding up the clock-work and thesignaldisk D, the circuit will remain open until, the

key being withdrawn and the lever thereby allowed to drop under thecontrol of the spring S the platina-points on the disk and the surface Fwill come in contact as the disk revolves. That part of the arm M whichis touched by the non-conducting sleeve or guard G of the key isalsoprovided with a non-conducting sleeve, M, the object of which is toprevent surreptitious signaling by means of any ordinary key or piece ofmetal introduced in the key-hole, so as to make circuit-closing contactbetween the arm .M and the shaft of the disk D. The disk D is onlypermitted to make substantially one revolution. Upon the disk andkey-arbor, beneath the disk, is placed a star-wheel, R one of the raysof which, R is longer than the others, and meshes into a similarstar-wheel, R which has a shallow cut, B, so placed as to receive R andthereby limit or stop the further rotation of the disk; and theadjoining cut R in the wheel R being also shallow, on winding up thedisk by turningto the right R will strike, and the winding will bestopped in that direction as well, so that only one revolution of thedisk can be made. Of course, the disk may be arranged so as to have morethan one revolution, and so make more than one set of signals by suchchanges, as will be evident; but one set of signals at a time issufficient, and if more are required they may be had at will byrepeatedly rewinding the transmitter with the key K.

The disk D may have one, two, or more platinapoints, according, say, tothefloor, upon which the transmitter may be placed, as floors 1, 2, 3,&c. The space between these points on each disk and the time elementfound practically in this organization between the contacts is to permitthe hour-hand of the receiving-clock to move for an appreciable space,so as to make the dots or dents distinguishable one from another. Thesedots are made by the action of the helices H H armature A, hand H, andneedle whenever the circuit is closed by the contact of the platinapoints and surface.

The stop T on the disk D is not absolutely essential; but in case of theintroduction and attempt to use an ordinary key, reversing the movementof the disk D, any contacts made with the nonaconducting stop T wouldnot close the circuit nor signal the clock.

The disk D may have more than one revolution, although I have not soshown it. In that case, with only one platina point thereon, the numberof marks or signals would correspond with the number of revolutionsgiven to the disk, and the variations required to indicate thesignal-stations may be made in that way. I

The ordinary single stop closer (shown at Figs. 5 and 6) may be used atwill, instead of the automatic closer; but I prefer the latter,

for the reason that it requires a special key, which may also be guardedby any of the usual key-guards, as in a lock-plate, if desired.

I claim as my invention- 1. A series of helices, H H, arranged aroundthe arbor or shaft of a clock-hand.

2. A clockhand provided with an armature, A, swinging around, over, andwithin control of electro magnets during its movement as a clock-hand.

3. A hinged clock-hand, H, provided with an armature, A, for the purposeof operating a marker-point, as shown and described.

4. A clock-hand provided With an armature, Within control ofelectro-magnets as it revolves, and a marker-point, in combination witha re- WALTER O. LEYVIS.

' Witnesses:

THEODORE R. SHEAR, GEORGE A. HAamIEL.

